Virus News and Research

Latest Virus News and Research

Hemophiliacs, hepatitis and HIV: A magic cure gone wrong

The dark side of capitalism’s effect on the medical and pharmaceutical industries is chillingly exposed in Doctor Guilt? Benefits of Medical Treatment Compared with Hazards – A tradeoff (published by iUniverse), the provocative new nonfiction by Everett Winslow Lovrien, M.D.

28 Oct 2010

Richmont establishes distribution of PURE's SDC-based IV-7 products in Middle East

PURE Bioscience, creator of the patented silver dihydrogen citrate (SDC) antimicrobial, today announced that its marketing partner, Richmont Sciences (Richmont), has established distribution of PURE's SDC-based IV-7™ products in the Middle East region. Under this arrangement, PURE sells IV-7 products to Richmont for resale into the Middle East, where the IV-7 water treatment and disinfection products have been registered by the United Arab Emirates-Dubai Municipality. Richmont is initially focusing on distribution of IV-7 Water Treatment™.

28 Oct 2010

New nationwide initiative to conduct research on human immune system

A new nationwide research initiative has been launched to define changes in the human immune system's response to infection and vaccination using human rather than animal models, which could lead to better vaccines and other treatments. Baylor Research Institute (BRI), along with five other U.S.-based Human Immune Phenotyping Centers, will receive a total of $100 million over five years to conduct the research.

28 Oct 2010

Pharmasset's PSI-938 phase I monotherapy trial shows positive result for HCV treatment

Pharmasset, Inc. reported positive preliminary results today from its phase I monotherapy trial of PSI-352938 for the treatment of chronic hepatitis C (HCV). PSI-938 is a guanosine nucleotide analog polymerase inhibitor in development for the treatment of chronic HCV infection.

28 Oct 2010

Octapharma initiates Human-cl rhFVIII clinical study for severe hemophilia A

Octapharma, one of the largest human protein products manufacturers in the world, today announced that patients diagnosed with severe hemophilia A have started treatment with the first recombinant Factor VIII derived from a human cell line (Human-cl rhFVIII). Researchers are investigating pharmacokinetics, efficacy, safety and immunogenicity of Human-cl rhFVIII for previously treated patients with severe hemophilia A.

28 Oct 2010

H5N1 lethality gene Replikin Count continues to rise in 2010

BioRadar™ software correctly predicted the 2009 H1N1 (Swine Flu) outbreak a year in advance. The same rise in Replikin Count of these genomic Replikin genes, this time in the H5N1 (Bird Flu) virus, may similarly warn of the coming of severe outbreaks in H5N1.

28 Oct 2010

New findings suggest way to treat lung diseases

A new study of an exotic, infectious virus that has caused three recent outbreaks in the United States reveals clues to how the virus might damage lungs during infection. The findings also suggest possible new ways to treat lung diseases in humans.

28 Oct 2010

Flu deaths analyzed for future lessons

A new report has looked at all of England’s swine flu deaths in children under 18 during the 2009 pandemic. Researchers found that there was a higher risk of dying from the influenza A H1N1 strain of flu among certain groups of children, such as those with pre-existing conditions and those of a Pakistani or Bangladeshi background. However it was unclear why.

27 Oct 2010

Vical to present preclinical results of HSV-2 vaccine program at Keystone Symposium

Vical Incorporated today announced that the company's Vice President of Clinical Development, Richard T. Kenney, M.D., is presenting preclinical results from the company's herpes simplex type 2 (HSV-2) vaccine program in a poster session Friday morning at the Keystone Symposium on Immunological Mechanisms of Vaccination (Seattle, October 27 – November 1).

27 Oct 2010

Scripps Florida scientist receives grant from Landenberger Foundation for HIV research

A scientist on the Florida campus of The Scripps Research Institute has received funding from the Philadelphia-based Margaret Q. Landenberger Research Foundation.

27 Oct 2010

Halting mosquito surveillance can increase management costs of epidemics 300 times

Cutting surveillance for mosquito-borne diseases would likely translate into an exponential increase in both the number of human cases and the health costs when a disease outbreak occurs, according to an analysis by Emory University.

27 Oct 2010

Anti-enolase antibody may contribute to bile duct injury in biliary atresia: Research

Researchers at the University of Colorado School of Medicine and The Children's Hospital have taken a big step toward understanding what causes one of the most serious liver diseases in infants.

27 Oct 2010

Study: lncRNA are involved in host response to viral infection

Scientists have demonstrated for the first time that a certain class of RNA (known as long non-protein-coding RNA [lncRNA]) are involved in the host response to viral infection. These findings, published today in the online journal mBio-, could greatly change the way scientists look at the body's response to viral infection.

27 Oct 2010

Elan 2010 third quarter total revenue decreases 2% to $281.4 million

Elan Corporation, plc today reported its third quarter and first nine months 2010 financial results.

27 Oct 2010

Human haptoglobin gene mutation increases risk of diabetic complications

Type 1 diabetes (T1D), formerly known as juvenile diabetes, is a multifactorial disease of complex etiology characterized by the autoimmune destruction of pancreatic beta cells. In addition to genetic susceptibility, it is generally accepted that environmental factors play important roles in triggering disease, with virus infection having perhaps the strongest association.

27 Oct 2010

Bivalent oral polio vaccine produces better immune response than more commonly used trivalent vaccine, study says

The bivalent oral polio vaccine (bOPV) was found to induce a significantly higher immune response than the existing trivalent oral polio vaccine (tOPV), according to a study published on Tuesday in the journal Lancet, Reuters reports.

27 Oct 2010

Long non-protein coding RNAs respond to SARS virus infection, says study

For the first time, scientists have discovered that a poorly understood class of RNA produced in a mammal's cells during a respiratory virus attack may affect the outcome of the infection. Their findings are reported today in mBio, a journal of the American Society for Microbiology.

27 Oct 2010

Biogen 2010 third quarter revenue increase 5% to $1.2 billion

Biogen Idec Inc. a global biotechnology leader in the discovery, development, manufacturing, and commercialization of innovative therapies, today announced its third quarter 2010 results.

26 Oct 2010

New tools could help detect wildlife disease outbreaks

Two new tools that enable the public to report sick or dead wild animals could also lead to the detection and containment of wildlife disease outbreaks that may pose a health risk to people.

26 Oct 2010

72 million children to be immunized against polio across 15 African countries

This week, Africa seizes an unprecedented chance to drive out polio when 15 countries across the continent launch a synchronized mass immunization campaign to reach 72 million children, capitalizing on gains made this year. A total of some 290 000 vaccinators have been mobilized to go door-to-door to deliver two drops of oral polio vaccine (OPV) to every child under five in areas considered at "highest risk" of polio transmission.

26 Oct 2010